When a homeless man in Cianorte, Brazil suffered a stroke and was rushed to the Santa Casa Hospital, something incredible was witnessed from it. In an act of pure love and loyalty, his six dogs were there, and they refused to leave his side.
Hospital workers were astounded as they filmed the moment his dogs arrived at the hospital, panting. In the selfless way that dogs express their loyalty, these six had actually chased their owner’s ambulance for miles. Once they made it to the building, the six of them immediately set up camp by the entrance to the emergency room.
Volunteers from Amigos de Patas Cianorte, an animal welfare organization, were called to the scene to look after the dogs. The volunteers fed them and took photos of them as they continued their faithful vigil for their owner.
Luiz and his dogs are well-known on the streets of Cianorte, where he has lived for more than 20 years. And while his family has tried many times to find Luiz suitable housing, he always turns it down – preferring to live on the streets with his close-knit dog family.
“He lives with his pals and treats them very well, he shares everything with them. That night he had a stroke … his friends of paws accompanied him and they stayed [crying] from the outside. There they remain in vigil,” Amigos de Patas Cianorte shared in a Facebook post.
According to Amigos de Patas Cianorte, by the morning time, Luiz was stable enough to be released into the care of his brother. Unfortunately, the long-awaited reunion with his dogs had to be postponed as Luiz was released through a different exit.
Simone Ziliane, a volunteer with Amigos de Patas Cianorte told Brazilian publication G1, “The dogs were desperate. On Thursday morning, when Luiz was discharged and left with his brother through another door, the dogs remained at the hospital entrance. One of the volunteers from the NGO had to fetch Luiz at his brother’s house and take him to where the dogs were for them to leave the front.”
When Luiz and his dogs were finally reunited, it was happiness all around. And if this story doesn’t make you just want to bawl your eyes out, I don’t know what will.
